What should I do about my cat's annoying clawing?

Question

Recently, my cat has been very bad about scratching her claws and pulling them on my carpet. She usually does it very early in the morning (about 2:00) and I don't know how to stop it. When she does it, I usually just snap and say no, then close my eyes and fall back asleep. Sometimes she'll stop when I say no, but minutes after I fall back asleep she's at it again! She won't use the scratching post I bought her, the other cat does! What do I do about her?

Answer 1

Put her out....make her get a kitty job and tell her she cant come back in until she can pay the bills.for damages she did in the house. :>

Answer 2

Apparently she prefers the feeling of the carpet rather than whatever is on the scratching post. I suggest getting some scrap carpet and adhering it to a board of wood. Try to get the same sort of carpet you have on your floors, it doesn't have to be the exact same color, but if you have light carpeting, you'll want to get light colored scraps; and vice versa for dark carpeting. Put the carpet board where she normally scratches and train her to only use the carpet board for scratching by giving her treats and putting down cat nip on the carpet board if she's responsive to the herb.

You may want to make other carpet boards to put around the house as well if she frequents different scratching areas. This will give her a place to scratch without damaging your carpets. And it's fairly inexpensive as well.

If that does not work, you may need to scare her out of the habit. If your cat is afraid of the vacuum cleaner, keep it plugged in and everytime she goes to scratch, turn it on with a pole or stick, since the cat will know it's you if it sees your hand turning it on. Do this each time the scratching happens.

Again, if that doesn't work, go to Petsmart and buy this aerosal contraption called Ssscat. It has a motion detector on it and whenever it senses the cat's movement it releases a harmless, odorless gas from an aerosal can. I've had very good experience with this product with my own cats and keeping them away and out of the Christmas tree which was happening on a nightly basis. After a couple of nights of having the Ssscat positioned to cut off access to the tree they stopped going near the tree. And I've had the product removed for a week now and still no evidence of the cats even going near it.

Answer 3

Trust me on that one, do the following and it should work. I've had a high level of success with that method on similar case.

The reason your actual method don't work is because your cats knows you and knows you won't hurt him and that's good because in the eyes of a cat, his master must be gold otherwise you would start to have other kind of problems.

So you need to introduce a new "ennemy" that he doesn't know!
1) Buy 3 small pillows that, when thrown at your cat, won't hurt him. When he start scratching, throw a pillow right at him (hitting him gently the first time will improve the time it will take for him to stop but it's not necessary). Trust me he will comes again 30 minutes later...when he does, throw the second pillow (If you hit him the first time, there is no need to do so the second time). He might try again a third time that night....throw the third pillow. That should be it for tonight.

2) He will most probably try it again the second night but maybe not three times. Then subsequent night he may try for time to time - VERY VERY IMPORTANT TO THROW THE PILLOW EVERY TIMES he start to scratch and it is VERY IMPORTANT TO KEEP AT IT for 21 days. Your cat may quite scratching for 10 days in a row and try again just to test if the "ennemy pillow" are still there. Cat behavior take 21 days to become permenant. If he don't do it for 21 days straight then you're done.

The reason behind all this is that your cat will identify the "ennemy pillow" as being something coming at him everytime he scratch. Since the "ennemy" is not you (even if you throw it, he is not smart enough to make the connection. He might make the connection that when you wake there is pillow coming and will run before you throw the pillow (which you should throw anyway) but not that you're throwing the pillow). Therefore he will test when the "ennemy" is watching. That's why he will try and different time or after a certain time. If the pillow keeps coming, believe me he will know that SCRATCHING = ENNEMY COMING AT HIM and will stop it.

Answer 4

Cats have scent glands on their paws, so when they begin to scratch in one place, they have a desire to top up the scent every time it begins to fade. Scratching is a way of marking territory, both visually and by scent. This why many cats won't share a scratch post - mine won't. They have individual preferences too for the sort of things they want to scratch. Our male cat is really good and always uses his scratch posts, but our female refuses them. Instead she prefers corrugated cardboard. Try offering your cat a few alternatives, even the underside of a heavy duty doormat, even a tree stump or thick branch, until you find something she will use. Reward her with food and lots of praise when she does.

In the meantime, you can temporarily cover the area of carpet with a heavy duty plastic mat, so that she's not attracted by her claw scent. A Feliway spray can also be a helpful deterrent. Cats generally don't scratch areas they have chin rubbed and Feliway mimics that scent. Try spraying the area once a day for 21 days. Be sure to place her scratch item at the same spot, as part of her reason for scratching there, may be as a marker for her territory.

The web sites below have lots of information that may help you. The Celia Haddon Cat Problem page has a lot of advice on scratching that I haven't seen on other web sites.

http://www.celiahaddon.co.uk/pet%20problems/cats/frameset.html
http://www.catscratching.com/

Answer 5

Get a few of the cardboard scratchers. The extra wide ones are very nice because the cat can climb right on it and scratch as much as they like.

I had a few chairs and a fair corner of my carpet torn up before I got those. Since then they still do it but only on rare occasions. They much prefer the cardboard!


Also, if she's ignoring the scratching post, you might look into getting a carpet-covered cat tree instead. Pet stores sell them for $50-$150, but I found a fairly decent one (single pole, 3 levels) at Wal-Mart for about $20. Both of my cats love scratching on that!

Answer 6

I think 'Rosenoir" above has some excellent suggestions: in addition, one I have used with success; is spraying your cat with a light white vinegar/water solution EVERY TIME you see the scratching on the carpet. Encourages the use of the scratching post/mat, etc. Does no harm to the animal or your furnishings! And, NO, I thing don't it's inhumane! The commercial "anti-scratch" sprays aren't very long lasting, and may have residual for any humans/pets with allergies.

Answer 7

If she's not too old, (and an indoor cat) I'd have her declawed. It's natural behavior for a cat to claw in this way (I call it 'diggiing to China' when my cat does it). They are exercising their paws as well as leaving their 'scent' in that area.

If declawing isn't an option, there are some chemical sprays that can discourage the behavior (your vet or pet shop will know of some).

Your other cat may already 'own' the scratching post (because of the scent) so this cat may need its own scratching box or post. Get her one and put it in the spot where she's clawing now. Maybe seed it with some cat nip to get her started with it. She might also like the wooden posts that are carpeted (a handy friend can make you one cheap).

Answer 8

Declawing is cruel, and discouraged by TICA and CFA. When you have the cat declawed the vet is not just cutting off the "fingernail" but actually amputating the cat's toes at the first knuckle. (Do a little google research before you take that step, please. I couldn't believe it when I found that out. OUCH!)

I agree with the answerer who suggests softpaws. Many people have wonderful luck with this product. I have had no problems with them on my cats. As long as you are able to hold you cat and trim her nails (which can be tricky if she isn't used to it) you should be able to apply the soft paws. They're little rubbery caps that slide over the end of the sharp cat nail and keep it from being able to tear things up.
The soft paws will fall off after about 30 days as you kitty naturally sheds her outer layer of claw. Then it's time to re-apply. (Usually one at a time though!)

My kitty tolerates them well and doesn't really notice them anymore. The caps don't interfere with her ability to retract her claws, but they have saved my rug & couch.

I haven't had to try to get my cat to unlearn any natural behaviors, which has been easier on me, and she hasn't been able to hurt my stuff with her scratching.

Answer 9

Try buying an inexpensive doormat that's made with scratchy material - hard to describe, but most places that sell doormats will have some like this. We bought one, as a doormat, and our cats use it all the time to sharpen their claws now. It doesn't seem to damage it, and even if it does eventually need replacing, it's much cheaper than carpet or furniture!

Answer 10

I swear by the cardboard scratching boxes. My cat shredded tons of stuff (and never used regular scratching posts) before I found those. Now she never scratches anything else. They are a miracle!

Answer 11

you will would desire to do an excellent form of artwork. First this could be a 2-guy (or woman) activity for awhile - one needs to hold the cat, the different trim the nails. Scruff him by ability of the decrease back of the neck on your lap so it "freezes" him. Then have a thick towel to sidestep scratches. Wrap him like a mummy and take one paw out. the guy trimming needs to have a company carry on the paw and trim the nails. you may merely get one or 2 of them performed before everything till now he freaks out. supply up and supply him a jiffy - save him wrapped up and doubtless supply him a small cope with of cheese. Then do yet another one or 2 nails. you may desire to do one paw an afternoon till at last they're performed. meanwhile, you may desire to play together with his feet/feet whilst hes' dozing devoid of any nail clippers in sight. I had a Turkish Angora who gave me H*ll whilst trimming nails - took me 2 days to do him. i'm good with nail cutting and in many cases have not got any problems doing merely approximately any cat. Your eventual purpose is to be waiting to envision and trim nails weekly or a minimum of each and every 2 weeks. many human beings wait a techniques too long to trim nails and thanks to this the cat freaks out on them.